Why infection control is important in nursing

For 18 years running, nursing has been the most trusted profession in the country. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. As Dr. Veenema at Johns Hopkins stresses, a large part of this commitment is establishing the core principles of infectious disease control early, often, and always.

This is the commitment Houston Baptist University gives all its nursing students. Designed on a competency-based education model, the program blends flexible hybrid instruction with clinical and practical experience at local healthcare facilities.

We trust nurses to give us the care we need to stay safe and healthy. Log in. Organisational access. Read this article via your institutional log in or pair token.

We use cookies on this site to enhance your user experience. Ensuring the use of safe, effective and ethical infection prevention and control measures is an important component of nursing care. To do so, nurses are expected to be aware of applicable CNO standards , relevant legislation, best practices and organizational policies related to infection prevention and control. The following addresses frequently asked questions nurses have about infection prevention and control and how to apply practice standards to specific clinical scenarios:.

As outlined by Infection Prevention and Control Canada , proper hand hygiene is the single most-important infection prevention and control practice. In doing so, nurses provide and promote the best possible patient care. CNO does not establish immunization requirements for nurses, individual employers do. Nurses are encouraged to work with their employers to determine immunization status within role requirements.

One way nurses promote the best possible patient outcomes is knowing how their personal immunization status relates to their practice setting and taking appropriate measures to support patient well-being and safety. The goal of professional practice is to obtain the best possible patient outcome, with no unnecessary risks of harm.

CNO has developed the following scenarios to provide nurses guidance around infection prevention and control measures. Fatima, a home-visiting nurse, has a patient with an open drain wound on her abdomen. A recent wound culture found the antibiotic resistant organism ARO. Trends in IC show a diversification in the workforce to include microbiologists, computer analysts, and public health specialists, but nurses will remain at the forefront thanks to their clinical skills and patient-facing responsibilities.

Editor's Note: This post was originally published in May and has been updated for freshness, accuracy and comprehensiveness. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to EOS Surfaces and EOScu Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. Partner Login Request a Sample. Facebook Twitter Pinterest. Partner Login. An Educational Blog. Leadership Since infection control IC became a specialty in it's own right in the s, nurses have carried leadership positions in implementing best practices in clinical care.

IC Program Implementation Nurses have more patient-facing hours than any other healthcare profession.